The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh announced Tuesday it is offering eligible faculty and staff a voluntary retirement buyout with a one-time payment equal to 50% of an employee's annual base salary.

UW-Oshkosh becomes the third campus within the UW System to offer buyouts in an effort to reduce its workforce in the face of state budget cuts. UW-Eau Claire was the first, followed last week by UW-Superior.

UW-Oshkosh expects about 100 employees would be eligible. It has set a goal of reducing its workforce by 80 within the next three years.(77)

Democrats offer plan giving WEDC's board more power

Madison – Democratic state legislators offered a package Wednesday to boost the powers of the board that oversees the state’s job-creation agency in response to an audit that found an array of problems.

Democrats -- in the minority in both the Senate and Assembly -- said a major overhaul was needed because of the recent audit that showed the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. last year didn't require financial statements from companies receiving business incentives; gave awards to ineligible businesses and ineligible projects; and didn't adequately follow up to see if those receiving incentives were creating the jobs they said they would.

Gov. Scott Walker and his fellow Republicans created the quasi-public economic development agency in 2011, saying it would be better at creating jobs than the state Department of Commerce that it replaced.

A legislative committee last week inserted a provision into the state budget to address some problems, but Democrats said Wednesday that proposal is not enough.

“We need to do much more to fix this broken state agency,” said Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point), who sits on WEDC’s board.

The Democratic proposal, released at a Capitol news conference, would:

* Have the chairman of WEDC’s board be elected by the board. Currently, the governor automatically serves as chairman;

* Mandate that the board include members with financial management experience, economic development experience, business experience and an expertise in corporate ethics;

* Establish a finance committee for the board. Unlike most corporate boards, WEDC does not currently have a finance committee;

* Expand the powers of the board’s audit committee to ensure it is complying with state laws and board directives;

* Create a lead director position on the board, to mirror the position that serves on many corporate boards;

* Require WEDC to report more information to the Legislature annually.

About Patrick Marley

Patrick Marley covers state government and state politics. He is the author, with Journal Sentinel reporter Jason Stein, of "More Than They Bargained For: Scott Walker, Unions and the Fight for Wisconsin.”